Casablanca Conference, Jan. 14-24, 1943, World War II meeting of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Casablanca, French Morocco. A joint declaration pledged that the war would end only with the unconditional surrender of the Axis states. No agreement was reached on the claims for leadership of the rival French generals, Henri H. Giraud and Charles de Gaulle, who also attended the conference.

Casablanca, Arab. Dar-al-Baida, city (1994 est. pop. 2,940,623), W Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean. The largest city and principal port of Morocco, it accounts for more than half of Morocco's industrial production. The city's leading industries produce textiles, glass, electronics, bricks, beer, and soft drinks. Fish and seafood are abundant in the coastal waters. Major imports include petroleum products. Casablanca is the seat of numerous Arab and French schools, an art school, the Goethe-Institut, and the Hassan II mosque (1993), one of the world's largest.

Casablanca is on the site of Anfa, a prosperous town that the Portuguese destroyed in 1468; they resettled it briefly in 1515 under its present name. Almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, Casablanca was rebuilt (1757) by Muhammad XVI. It was occupied by the French in 1907. During World War II, Casablanca was the scene of one of the three major Allied landings in North Africa (Nov., 1942) and of a conference between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (Nov., 1943).

(Jan. 12–23, 1943) Meeting during World War II at Casablanca, Morocco, between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. They planned future global military strategy for the Western allies, reaching agreement on such issues as the invasion of Sicily, operations in the Pacific theatre, and the concentrated bombing of Germany. Most importantly, they issued a demand for an “unconditional surrender” from Germany, Italy, and Japan.

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Coastal city (pop., 1994: 2,940,623), western Morocco. It occupies the site of the ancient city of Anfa, destroyed by the Portuguese in 1468. The Portuguese returned in 1515 and built a new town, Casa Branca (“White House”). Abandoned after an earthquake, it was occupied by a Moroccan sultan in 1757. European traders, including the French, began to settle there. In 1907, after French citizens were murdered there, French forces occupied the town. During the subsequent French protectorate, it became Morocco's chief port. Since then, its growth and development have been continuous. In World War II (1939–45) it surrendered to the Allied Powers in 1942, and in 1943 the Casablanca Conference was held there.

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